What happened to Miami in its 28-point loss to Eastern Kentucky?
The outcome of Friday night's game between Miami and Eastern Kentucky was certainly a major surprise.
The margin of victory was even more eye-popping.
The 18th-ranked Hurricanes suffered their most lopsided home loss since 1997 when the Colonels came into Coral Gables and rolled to a 72-44 rout. Eastern Kentucky outscored Miami 45-19 in the second half and limited the Hurricanes to 29.3 percent shooting for the game.
How could Miami lose by that many points at home against a Colonels team that entered with a 5-4 record, zero noteworthy wins and losses to East Tennessee State and Valparaiso? Well, it didn't help that star point guard Angel Rodriguez was ill entering the game, per ESPN's broadcast.
Rodriguez scored only one point on 0-for-6 shooting and had as many assists as turnovers. In Miami's two losses this season against Green Bay and Eastern Kentucky, Rodriguez has played his worst two games and has shot a combined 2 of 21 from the field.
The Hurricanes' lack of an interior game becomes even more glaring when Rodriguez isn't attacking off the dribble and creating chances for the big men. Starters Tonye Jekiri and Joe Thomas combined for four points and only one made basket against Eastern Kentucky.
Miami still might have stayed in the game with its defense in spite of its scoring woes, but Eastern Kentucky caught fire from behind the arc. The Colonels sank 14 of 26 threes, five from Timmy Knipp, four from Isaac McGlone and two impossibly deep ones from Corey Walden long after the game was already out of reach.
All those factors added up to a shocking score and a loss that will surely knock Miami out of the Top 25 when the new polls come out Monday.
The Hurricanes probably aren't as bad as they looked Friday night. But their two best wins came against a struggling Florida team and an Illinois team that has since lost twice more, so maybe it's a bit premature to call Miami a member of the ACC's upper echelon.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
